Downtown's Milner Hotel Will Become Apartments And Condos

In another example of the housing boomlet in downtown and Midtown, a developer is planning to turn the Milner Hotel near Comerica Park into apartments and condos.

Two Milner employees confirmed that the nine-story hotel is closing and said managers had told them about the conversion. They asked not be named because they are not authorized to comment.

The last day for guests is Oct. 31. Some permanent residents are moving out.

The name of the developer is not known.

The 72-room Milner is on Centre, a short, tree-lined street tucked into a neighborhood near the Detroit Athletic Club, the stadiums, theaters, Harmonie Park and other downtown attractions.

Opened in 1917 during Detroit's boom years as part of a national chain, the Milner then advertised itself with the slogan, "A Bed and a Bath for a Buck and a Half."

The Milner reconversion is part of a trend of downtown development that includes turning the Broderick Tower into apartments, the buying spree and refurbishing of buildings by Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert and plans to build a boutique hotel in the David Whitney Building. Occupany rates for apartment buildings are said to be at 97 percent, according to an article by John Gallagher in the Free Press.

Next door to the Milner was once the Madison-Lenox Hotel, two eight-story buildings built in 1900 connected by a two-story atrium. In 2005, the hotel, then owned by the Ilitch companies, was ordered demolished by then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick after a bitter fight with preservationists.

The report of the Milner closing was first reported on the DetroitYES! community forum by a poster with the screen name of tarkus.